The Path to Enlightenment
by AlyssC01
Summary: Lara and Amanda's stuck together in Nepal and need to complete the journey together if they are to survive. My conclusion or rather continuation of the TRU game.
1. Prologue

_TITLE: The Path of Enlightenment.  
AUTHOR: Alyssa C_

_CATEGORY: Epilogue. _

_PAIRINGS: Lara/Amanda  
SPOILERS: General spoilers for Tomb Raider Legend, Anniversary and Underworld. _

_RATING: T _

_WARNINGS: There will be mention of a relationship between two women. _

_STATUS: Unfinished._

_FEEDBACK: Please! Please I'll do tricks for reviews. Which? Well. Review and see. ;) _

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tomb Raider's copy right. That goes without saying. I'm not making any money out of this either. Bummer that._

_AN: I've just finished playing Tomb Raider Underworld (took me a while to be able to afford PS3 so that I could play it so yes, I know I'm behind, or was…) and this just wouldn't let me go. I've been playing with the idea of starting a Tomb Raider fic for ages (after Legend really). Here's my attempt at it, I hope you enjoy and more importantly, lol, I hope you review. _

**Prologue: Falling Snow. **

'_So, this is hell,'_ she thought quietly as she lay on the cold stone floor, feeling flakes of snow landing on her face and melting there to form tears that she couldn't cry. _'A place not filled with fire and demons and torture, but snow and bitter memories and an old friend who wanted to see you dead.' _

Lara Croft pushed herself up and looked around her. _'A full circle,'_ she thought as she stood up and walked to where the Excalibur look alike was lying. _'Everything started here and now, this is where I end up. Older, wiser… I know now what happened to my parents. Both of them. The truth that was supposed to set me free…'_

She turned to see Amanda push herself up, her hand clutching the Wraith Stone. There was hate and pain in her old friend's eyes as she balled her fist, making the stone burn with its dark light.

For a few seconds Lara looked at her, then clutched her sword, feeling its ridges and familiar power.

"So, it's back to this, is it?" She asks, her voice conveying her bitter pain and exhaustion. If Amanda wanted a fight, she would give it to her.

The blond woman grimaced at her, the scar on her face making her appear flawed and wronged. "What?" She exclaimed, though Lara could see the hesitation that she needed in her eyes. "You think we're even?"

She thought about this, deeply and quickly. She had left Amanda to a watery grave, buried and lost, thinking her dead. She's regretted it since learning her fate in Kazakshtan, wondering how things would've turned out if she had gone back. Amanda would never have activated the circle and through that, her mother would never have been taken to Helheim. Inevitably, she had played a hand in her own fate. Amanda had in turn done her many wrongs, had been responsible for Alistair's death and the destruction of her home. They had done each other so many wrongs that somehow; she knew that nothing could fix it.

Lest of all revenge.

"Would killing me make us even?" Lara asked bitterly and put the sword on her back before Amanda lowered the Wraith Stone. If she wanted to continue this fight, so be it, Lara was going to have no part in it. It had to end somewhere and, if Amanda killed her now, it would just give her an easy out to all the problems and heartache that lay before her.

She could see Amanda consider this, see her mulling the thoughts through her quick and sharp mind. Then, slowly, she saw her own bitter defeat reflected in her old friend's eyes as she lowered her stone and turned around sharply, limping to the exit.

Lara didn't follow her, not immediately, but turned again to look at the broken dais. She saw something on the floor and walked towards it, picking up the drawings of a young girl, long dead and forgotten. The young girl would never have dreamed that one day she would meet Yeti, and they would be just as fierce as she had depicted in her pictures. Lara bit back tears as she looked at the stones around her, thinking of her mother and the final kiss she had given her so many years ago.

'_You never have to be cold Lara,'_ her mother had said. _'Not if you don't want to be.'_

The sad fact was that she had been cold after those fateful events and she might well be cold for the rest of her life.

Letting the drawings drop, Lara turned around with a heavy heart. "Good bye Mother," she whispered softly, trying to remember the woman she had lost and not the thrall she had to kill. "Rest in peace."

She walked back to the entrance of the chamber, finding it ironic that she'd returned here twice in just a few months after vowing years ago that she'll never come back. The irony was that once again, she was trapped as she had been when she was younger, with no supplies, no proper clothing and no way of contacting help. Yet, this time, she wasn't alone.

She found Amanda standing by the exit of the chamber, clutching her leg and looking out to the vast snow ridden landscape that stretched before them. She didn't turn to see Lara coming up behind her, but shivered and leaned against the wall to get the weight off of her injured leg.

"Where are we?" she queried, though from the doubt in her voice, Lara could hear that she didn't believe that she could give her an answer. She felt bitterly satisfied to be able to supply it.

"Nepal," she said. "In an old monastery." She saw a brief flicker of hope in Amanda's eyes and quickly stopped it. "Abandoned," she added. "There's nobody around for miles and it's winter."

Amanda raised an eyebrow and mouthed the word '_Nepal'_. Her eyes widened as she turned to Lara. "Where your mother…"

Lara nodded and leaned against the opposite wall. She wasn't feeling the cold, not yet. She hurt too much to.

"Yes," she said simply. "Where my mother left me. And I was stranded. Alone."

Always alone.

Amanda didn't look at her, didn't ask any questions. She was one of the few people who knew the full story, who had heard first hand what hardships Lara had to endure when she was younger.

Lara had told her; when they were still friends, in a time now seemingly so far out of reach and memory that it felt as if it was another person's story.

A story told to a friend, one night in a university dormitory, when the world was very different and pain, although acute, had not yet turned bitter…

&&&

_To Be Continued…_


	2. 01 A Night Remembered

**Chapter 01: A Night Remembered.**

She was having a nightmare again.

From her side of the dorm, Amanda lay in her bed, listening to her roommate. The young woman tossed and turned in her sleep, her words unintelligible but clearly founded in fear. Swallowing, Amanda turned over and stared at the blank wall before her. When she had first heard that she was going to share a room with Lady Lara Croft, she had been apprehensive and more than a little bit disappointed. A few months before, the tabloids had had a field day with the young aristocrat when she fought and won a vicious legal battle with her family to gain control of her father's estates. She had followed the legal battle but more so because she had been interested in Richard Croft than his daughter. The man, although heavily criticized by his peers, seemed to be able to bring theories of magic and legend together in archaeology and she couldn't help but feel inspired by his work. His death two years prior had come as quite a shock to her.

From what she had seen in the papers though, his daughter seemed cold and distant and she couldn't help but wonder whether she had gone into archaeology just because she couldn't think of anything else than to follow in her father's footsteps. It was only when she actually met Lara that she realized that the papers and tabloids had painted a picture of her that was completely warped. She wasn't cold and distant or even arrogant about her heritage and title. She was calm and intense, her brown eyes shining with intelligence. Amanda had liked her immediately and, although it was difficult to tell, she suspected that the feeling was mutual.

Lara screamed again, her voice tight with fear as her fist lashed out and hit the wall. It should've woken her, but it didn't.

It was going to be one of those nights.

Amanda turned around, away from the wall, and turned on her bedside lamp, casting the room in a light glow. She could see Lara clearly now, her sheets rumpled, her legs kicked open, her arms and hands clenched as if trying to hold onto something.

"Please mother," the young woman whispered suddenly. "Please don't leave me, please." Her voice was small and childlike and now her eyes were open as she stared at the spectre that haunted her dreams.

Carefully standing up from the bed, Amanda could feel her heart clenching as she stood up and carefully went over to her roommate. She waved her hands in front of Lara's eyes but the young woman didn't see anything, her breathing heavy and her face covered in sweat and tears as if she had a fever. For a second, Amanda wondered whether she _was_ sick and if it was the reason for her close to delirious state. Carefully, hesitantly, she reached out and touched Lara's forehead to feel for any heat but she never got a chance to pay close attention as Lara suddenly sat up with a strangled cry, slapped away her hand and with a lightning speed that frankly scared the crap out of her, grabbed her by the throat.

Amanda bit her tongue in shock, her eyes meeting Lara's as she half stood, half sat in front of her and her hands grabbing the young woman's wrist to try and pry it away from her.

"Lara!" she managed. "Lara it's me Amanda. Lara, please!"

There was a moment's confusion in Lara's eyes, then as it dawned on her where she was, she made an aghast sound and sank back, immediately letting go of Amanda's throat and putting her head in her hands.

"Oh, Amanda," she said softly. "I'm so sorry. I'm so terribly sorry; I didn't know what I was doing. I'm so sorry."

Swallowing dryly, her heart beating wildly in her chest, she sat down carefully and put her arm around the distraught young woman. "It's alright," she said carefully. "It's okay Lara, are you alright?"

Lara went rigid at her touch and turned her head away, embarrassed. "I didn't hurt you?" she queried instead of answering the question. "I'm so sorry Amanda, are you alright?"

Forcing herself to laugh lightly, Amanda hugged Lara tighter and carefully tried to get her to look at her. "I asked you first silly," she said and, when she couldn't convince Lara to look at her, rather touched her forehead, feeling if she had a fever. "What did you dream?" She didn't feel hot but her face was still clammy with sweat.

Lara swallowed and shook her head as she stood up abruptly and went to the small basin that they had in their room. Amanda watched as she washed her face and took a sip of water. She couldn't help but think that the other woman had a great body but she quickly pushed those thoughts away and went over to her.

"Lara," she said softly, watching how the woman avoided looking at her. "What's wrong? What did you dream?" When her roommate didn't answer, she ventured a guess. "Was it something to do with your mother?"

The wild look Lara shot at her told her that she was spot on and for a moment she cringed, remembering the young woman's harsh response when a television crew had asked her about her mother's disappearance when they were still going to the high court. "I'm sorry," Amanda said instinctively. "I didn't mean to pry."

Lara took a steadying breath and took a few steps around the room, reminding Amanda of a caged animal. "It's okay Amanda," she said softly. "It was just a nightmare. I..." She hesitated. "Are you sure I didn't hurt you?"

Amanda nodded slowly, carefully reaching up to touch her neck. She suspected that there was going to be bruises but she could live with those. "I've had worse," she said with a small smile. "You can't become an archaeologist if you're not willing to take a few scrapes for the job right?"

When Lara smiled at her ruefully but didn't reply, Amanda sighed softly and laid a gentle hand on Lara's shoulder.

"If you need to talk about it, just say," she said softly. "I'm here for you alright? If you don't want to talk, that's also alright. Just tell me what I need to do next time you have a nightmare. Should I just leave you or wake you up?"

Lara cringed and sighed. "Was I screaming?" she asked in a worried voice to which Amanda chuckled softly and nodded. "Yes," she said quietly. "I'm half worried that campus security is going to show up and see whether I'm murdering my roommate."

At Lara's worried expression she laughed softly and impulsively leaned over and hugged her friend. "The walls are thick," she said and held her rigid body tightly. "Don't worry."

She expected Lara to step away but for a split second she felt the woman relax in her grip and lay her face on her shoulder. Then, she pulled away and quietly went back to her bed, her shoulders bend in grief. Amanda watched her straighten her blankets and quietly slip back into bed. When it became clear to her that Lara wasn't going to say anything she sighed softly and returned to her own bed. She had just settled down and turned off her light when she heard Lara shift and take a deep breath.

"I never spoke about it," she said quietly. "Never. When I told my father what had happened, the doctor who was attending to me made a comment on how shock could warp the mind. Some people still believe that I had been found by some locals and was taken to the village and that I had fabricated the story of my... walk." She was quiet for a long time. Amanda shifted on her bed and sat up so that she could hug her knees to her chest, her heart beating with anticipation as to what she might hear.

"You don't have to tell me Lara," she said quietly. "Not if you don't want to."

Lara shivered at her words and shifted again in the dark.

"I was nine Amanda," she said quietly. "I shouldn't have had to go through that. We were a good family, a happy one. Very few people in our positions were. My father and mother really loved each other..." She swallowed. "And... my mother's _death_ just took..." She struggled and sighed, shaking her head. "It's bad enough having to have lived through it once but almost every night?" She turned her dark brown eyes on Lara, desperation carrying through to her even in the darkness of the room. "I don't want to sound like the victim or the villain. The poor little girl who lost her mother and then trekked through some of the most hostile territory on _earth_ or the orphaned teenager who had to fight her own family to claim what's rightfully hers. I don't."

Amanda shifted slightly and considered going to Lara but quickly changed her mind and settled back, scared that she might lose the moment.

"Sometimes Lara," she said quietly. "And, I know this is going to sound like a cliché, but sometimes it helps to talk about things. Just... Let it out. Emotions weren't meant to be kept inside us. That is why we can cry and scream and rage. Because they are outlets, links between our emotions and the physical world." She shrugged her thoughts wandering. "Like magic really. Perhaps years ago, people could wield the elements as they whisper in stories. Now, because we've become so used to bottling things up, it's severed that tie between us and the supposedly unreal. Leaving us with only tears and nightmares."

When she realized that she had gotten a bit side tracked she blushed suddenly and turned a worried look on Lara who was still sitting in the dark quietly.

"Are you planning to include that in your thesis one day?" she asked softly to which Amanda laughed embarrassed. "No," the young woman admitted. "No, but it's a thought that I've played with." She sighed. "I do believe in magic you know."

There was a long pause and then, to her elation, Lara suddenly stood up and quietly came over to her side of the room. When Amanda shifted up, she carefully got onto the bed beside her and turned on the lamp, her brown orbs seemingly bottomless as she looked at her.

"You believe in magic?" she said quietly and, unable to deny it, Amanda nodded.

Lara shifted closer to her and carefully rested her hand on Amanda's knee. "Then I want to tell you something," she said softly. "That only my father and a handful of other people know."

Amanda swallowed, her whole body suddenly aware of Lara's closeness and her light touch. "You don't have to tell me," she said softly. "I know it must be hard Lara."

It was going to be, she could see it in her eyes, but despite that Lara smiled slightly and squeezed her knee. "It will be," she said quietly. "But you are my friend Amanda, I want you to know..."

&&&

_To Be Continued..._

_AN: Thank you for the response on this! Normally I send out individual thank you notes and answer questions but my computer broke and I've had some trouble switching computers and remembering everything that I needed to do. Please review once again! It's much appreciated. The more reviews, ;) the quicker I get to this... _


	3. 02 Cold Night

**Chapter 02: Cold Night.**

When Lara returned to the ruins she found Amanda lying on the floor, massaging her leg as she lay with her face to the wall. They had decided to spend the night in the monastery, where the small antechamber that led to the standing stones provided some protection against the bitter cold wind outside. Lara had managed to start a fire and, while Amanda had rested her leg, she went to try and see if she could find some supplies. She also needed to be alone to think, to try and figure out how they were going to get out of this predicament. She had some basic medical supplies in her backpack and her PDA but she had left all of her other equipment back on Jan Mayen Island. She had no idea what possessed her to do such a thing. She wondered whether deep down she had had some kind of a suicide wish, or whether she had really thought that she would find Avalon with her mother after rescuing her from Helheim.

Sighing miserably, she dropped the two snow rabbits that she had managed to catch and sank down beside the fire. She stared at Amanda who was shivering and sighed again, shaking her head.

"You should come closer," she said quietly, watching the woman's back as it stiffened. "It's warmer here."

"I'm fine," came Amanda's short supply, her distain clear.

_Fine,_ Lara thought bitterly as she pulled a rabbit closer and started skinning it. _Freeze to death._

"I've managed to find us something to eat," she rather said, trying hard to keep her voice civil. "I think you should eat. You're going to need your strength."

Amanda didn't reply, but after a lengthy pause she pushed herself up and inched closer to the fire. Lara couldn't help but notice how difficult her movements seemed but she didn't say anything until Amanda sat down. She watched as the blond pushed her platinum locks out of her face and pulled the rabbit closer. She gave it a look of distain and pushed it back, hugging her knees to her chest.

"I'm a vegetarian."

Lara remembered but pushed it closer again. "I can assure you that we are not going to find any vegetables here," she said neutrally. "You'll have to eat this Amanda."

The woman's sharp eyes shot to hers as she stood up again abruptly and moved back to her corner. "Don't tell me what to do," she snapped. "I'm fine."

Lara watched as she sank down again and lay with her back to the fire. She glared at the rabbit in her own hands and found herself abruptly fighting tears.

_How did we come to this?_ She asked softly, wondering if the answer lay deeper than her abandoning Amanda to her supposed watery grave. _Why can't it just end?_

She sniffed stubbornly and shook her head at herself, realizing that she was tired and emotionally beaten by the past day's events.

_How could you be so naive as to expect to find your mother alive?_ She thought bitterly as she continued skinning her own rabbit. _How could you have been so stupid to keep hope alive? Because that was what this was about. Hope._

Tears threatened again, but she pushed them away.

Hope had cost her everything that she held dear. Her untainted memories of her mother, Amanda's friendship and Alister, dear Alister... She wondered if Zip would ever forgive her, or realize that she needed forgiveness.

Breathing deeply, trying hard to still her thoughts, Lara finished skinning her rabbit and put it over the fire. By now the room was almost completely dark, with the only real light coming from the fire. The stones around them glowed as well, their imposing outlines towering over Lara in the same way they had when she was a child. She looked up at them, thinking that – when she was younger, she had seen them as her enemy, as the vectors that had taken her mother away from her. Now though, she could not help but see them as her saviours who had pulled her away from the fury of the Midgard Serpent. Her and Amanda of course, who was the _real_ person to blame for her mother's death. Her heart ached when she looked at the woman she had once called friend. It was strange how perceptions could be reversed.

When her rabbit was done, Lara forced herself to eat it, even though she wasn't very hungry and proceeded to roast Amanda's as well. While she was busy, Amanda got up from her spot by the wall and moved outside. She didn't offer an explanation as to where she went and Lara didn't ask.

When she returned, Lara couldn't help but notice that her limping seemed worse. She grimaced and stood up, meaning to approach Amanda.

"You should let me have a look at that leg," she said, trying to keep her voice placid.

Amanda glanced in her direction and for a slit second Lara could see the wild desperation in her eyes that told of her pain. Yet, she steeled herself and shook her head stubbornly, the vulnerability gone as quickly as it had come.

"I'm fine," she said coldly and sat down again, though it was noticeably closer to the fire. "It was just a bump."

Lara looked at her and then grimaced at the rabbit she was roasting. "Natla hit you pretty hard," she pointed out.

Amanda snorted and shook her head as she tried to get comfortable sitting down. "I'm fine," she said again. "Tell me, what are we going to do now?"

Lara sighed softly and looked at the fire.

"We've got two options," she said levelly. "Either we stay here and wait for Zip to pick up the emergency signal in my PDA or we try and trek back to society."

Amanda gave her an odd look. "Well, that seems fairly obvious," she pointed out. "We just wait for the signal to be found, for all we know they are on their way right now."

Lara shook her head with a pained expression and poked the fire. "It's not that strong," she said softly. "This wasn't meant as the main distress beacon. It was only meant to try and help them find me when the rescuers were already in the area. If Zip thinks of scanning this area he'll find us, but I don't know what he's doing right now or what he would think to do. I warned him that it might be a one way trip to Helheim."

Amanda snorted and pressed her hand against her leg. "Then, we trek out of here," she said non comically. "Do you know the way?"

Lara grimaced and nodded. "Yes," she said. "There is a settlement not far from here, it's about... four day's hike. In good weather."

Amanda almost smiled when she looked at her. "We don't have that," she pointed out to which Lara smiled and dropped her gaze.

"No," she said dryly. "We don't."

Amanda grimaced and stared into the fire for a long time as if it could provide all the answers and solutions to her problems. Finally she seemed to come to some sort of decision and, with a defeated sigh, closed her eyes and swallowed. "When you're done with that, pass it on," she said. "Do we leave at first light?"

Lara chuckled softly and shook her head. "Then we'd never leave," she said with a smile. "There will be very little light to travel by."

Pain.

Amanda lay beside the fire, shivering and cold. Her stomach felt ill from the food that she had consumed and the pain in her leg felt as if it had spread to her whole abdomen. She didn't know how to position herself, because lying down hurt and sitting up was awkward. Walking was downright agony and the realization scared the hell out of her. She couldn't imagine how she was going to keep up with Lara when they started moving.

Thinking about her old friend brought a fresh wave of anger inside her soul. A part of her couldn't help but feel that she should've just left her to be consumed by the toxic water. It would've just ended everything and that way she could've repaid her for leaving her in Paraiso. But the reality was, then she would've been stuck here on her own, her death almost as certain as Lara's would've been.

Now with Lara here, she stood a chance. A small one, but a chance none the less.

And, the truth was that she couldn't do it. When they had been looking at each other and she considered leaving Lara there, she could see that the Tomb Raider had sensed her thoughts yet still kept the stone in place. There was a lot in her eyes as she had looked at Amanda. Anger, frustration, fear and the hope that Amanda could forgive her quickly enough to take her hand.

Amanda had found herself realizing that, if she left Lara behind, she would be just as bad as she was and then she would have no call to be angry with her over the past anymore.

And anger was such a wonderful thing to hold onto.

She didn't feel anger now, here in this cold night. She felt sadness and pain and fear, all mixed together in a ball that settled in her chest and squeezed her heart until she could not breathe.

Turning around on the cold stone floor so that she could stare at the fire, Amanda felt her gaze drifting to where Lara lay on the other side. The Tomb Raider was asleep, her breathing steady. The woman could sleep comfortably in hell, Amanda mused, thinking that it was one of the perks of archaeology.

Sighing, she sat up slowly and put more fuel on the fire. Lara had remarked that the room was noticeably warmer than when they came, but Amanda couldn't feel it.

She was never really cut out for roughing it, she had always enjoyed the time spend behind her books a lot more than she did her time spend in the dirt. The terrible events of Paraiso just cemented that in her mind.

A whimper drew her attention back to Lara and she realized that the woman had curled herself up in a small bundle, her hands clenched in fists. Her heart ached when she immediately recognized the sound as a pending nightmare. She had heard the sound so many times before when she and Lara shared their room. Back then she would've gotten up immediately and soothed Lara in her sleep, staying next to her the whole evening until she quieted down. Now, she merely stared at her as her features contorted more and tears started running down her face and her mouth whispered soft words...

"_Mother. Please." _

_To Be Continued..._

_AN: Thank you once again for the great response on this! I'm terribly busy so I tend to forget to reply to the reviews but I would just like to say once again that I really appreciate them! Sorry for the delay on this. I had a bit of a delay in my other story which piled up and spilled into the rest of my work. I follow a pretty strict writing programme (order wise) to stop myself from straying from a topic (and completing stories). _

_Hopefully things will flow quicker now. _

_Have a great day!  
Alyss _

_--;-3_


	4. 03 Beyond the Night

**Chapter 03: Beyond the Night**

Amanda was slow to rise the next morning and very sluggish, which worried Lara. Watching the woman as she returned to the now bitterly cold room after taking a walk outside, Lara couldn't help but notice how stiff her movements were. When she tried to ask her about it though, she was snappish and not very forth coming. Lara let the subject drop, as they have been doing with so many others since arriving in Nepal.

Their plan was to set out and walk in the direction that Lara deemed to be the shortest route to civilization and, Lara had to admit, for all the obvious pain that Amanda was in, she didn't protest once, grudgingly accepting Lara's lead in this venture. The tomb raider intended to get at least 8 hours of travelling though she knew that it was going to be asking a lot of Amanda. As they prepared to get going, and Lara sheathed Excalibur on her back, she couldn't help but look at her companion with a touch of admiration. Although she could see that the woman was troubled, Amanda still had an air of calm around her, as if she had discovered all the answers in the world and decided to keep them to herself. When she was younger, Amanda had been ever searching. Searching for power, searching for magic, searching for something in which she could believe in. The stone around her neck seemed to have given that to her.

Lara sighed softly, attracting Amanda's attention as she limped to her side.

"And that sigh?" she queried.

For a moment Lara thought to answer her, but decided against it with a small shake of her head. "We have to start," she said. "Are you ready?"

Amanda barked a dry laugh and started to walk ahead of her. "I can't find my house keys," she said. "I think I locked them in the car."

Lara smiled and fell in step next to Amanda, taking out her PDA to check their location. "Come on."

They set out in silence, at first walking next to each other but later walking in a single file with Lara in front and Amanda struggling to keep pace with her. She didn't complain though and Lara didn't adjust her pace, knowing that if she didn't push the woman they were going to be in a lot of trouble come nightfall. They managed a good three hours of walking before Amanda finally stopped, out of breath and shaking as she all but collapsed to her knees. Lara, who heard the crunch of the snow behind her, turned around and quickly went to Amanda's side, noticing how her usually pale features seemed all but transparent.

"Are you alright?" She queried, speaking for the first time in three hours as she knelt in the snow beside her.

Amanda looked at her and closed her eyes, barking a laugh that really sounded close to a sob.

"I just... remembered," she gasped. "That... I have... actually... vowed _never_... to go... hiking with... you again." Lara blinked at her and then smiled suddenly.

"West Highland Way, Scotland," she said with a smile and carefully laid a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "That was the most miserable Scottish summer in history."

Amanda smiled briefly and shook her head, digging her hands into the snow so that she could attempt to push herself up again. "You wouldn't..." She swallowed and tried to rise to her feet. "You wouldn't quit... We walked and... walked and walked. With the rain, and the midges..."

Lara laughed. "Typical Scottish phenomena," she said. "When we reached Fort William you wouldn't even stay in the youth hostel with me, you just booked yourself right into a Bed and Breakfast – vowing never to hike with me again." She moved her hand from Amanda's shoulder to under her arm so that she could pull her up "You were always more the scholar than the adventurer."

Amanda let herself be pulled up by Lara but stepped away from her the moment she was on her feet. "And you never quit," she said. "In whatever you set out to do." Her voice turned bitter as she looked at Lara. "Why did you quit looking for me? Or trying to save me? Why?"

Lara pulled back, her temper suddenly flaring. "I thought you had said that you got over that a long time ago!" she snapped and turned around sharply. "We're wasting time." She started walking away quickly, not even bothering to see whether Amanda was following her or not.

888

"So, what are you going to do for your summer holiday?" Young Lara asked as she and Amanda came back from dinner, linked arm in arm. "Are you going home?"

Amanda sighed and rolled her eyes. "I wish," she said miserably. My mother 's got a new boyfriend whose decided to take her on a cruise that just _conveniently_ fell right in the middle of my holiday. I don't see why I should bother going back if she's not going to be there."

Lara made a considering sound and moved away from Amanda so that she could unlock their room door. "And your father?" she queried, just managing to keep the note of longing from her voice. She wished that she could go home to her family.

"Working," Amanda said and briefly touched her back as they stepped into the room. "He doesn't like me underfoot."

Lara gave her a dry smile and move to fall down on the closest bed, which just happened to be Amanda's. "You're hardly a child anymore Amanda," she said. "Underfoot? That's a term you use for kindergarteners."

Amanda smiled ruefully and sat down on the bed next to Lara, watching her face intently as she smiled up at her. "To him I'll always be a toddler," she said. "Besides, I like it here; I thought to do some work on my project for next term. You?"

Lara smiled and waved the idea away, her hand brushing Amanda's arm. "I have spent enough time behind my books thank you," she said. "I want to travel up to Scotland, maybe go up as far as Orkney, my father did some work there on some of the old Viking sites." She hesitated and smiled at her roommate. "You can come with me if you want to." She did not miss the excitement that briefly flared up in Amanda's gaze before she stilled her features to calm.

"You've probably already made plans," she said. "I would hate to bother you."

Lara smiled and shook her head, carefully reaching out to touch Amanda's arm again, pleased to note that her friend didn't pull away. "I can assure you, you won't be a bother," she said. "My plans are flexible, I haven't made any of the bookings yet. I wasn't really planning to anyway, just pack a backpack and go."

Amanda nodded, her smile become more prominent as Lara's hand gently strayed to her elbow. "It would be nice to spend some time with you away from," she motioned around her, "all of this."

Lara returned her smile and dropped her hand to her side. "It's settled then," she said. "We'll spend our summer together."

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_To Be Continued..._

_AN: Thank you for all the new reviews! Always appreciated. ;) Have a super day! _

_Alyssa_


	5. 04 Nightmare

**Chapter 04: Nightmare **

Lara tried to peer through the snow, tried to see what was going on around her as she tried to find the path that would lead her home. She thought that she could make out something and turned to call out to Amanda and tell her. But, when she turned around, the woman had disappeared in the wall of white. Worried that she had fallen behind, Lara took a step back and called out her name. Her call was answered by a cry of rage and quite suddenly the snow swirled open as Amanda came at her, carrying a large rock. Her intention was clear, the murder all but shining in her eyes.

"Amanda no!" Lara yelled even as she pulled out her gun. The woman didn't listen, but raised the stone higher as she ran at her. Lara took a step back and aimed for her head but found that she was unable to pull the trigger. Instead, she dropped her aim and shot Amanda in the knee. The woman cried out as she fell in front of her, clutching her leg as her dark blood started pooling in the snow.

Breathing heavily, Lara aimed her gun at Amanda's head, unable to believe what had just happened. She imagined herself pulling the trigger and making good on her threat in Bolivia. But then, when Amanda looked at her she found herself hesitating and pulled back, taking a step away from her.

There was black murder in Amanda's eyes as she dared her to do it but also her fear of dying. When Lara grimaced and put the gun away, looking at the blood spreading over the white snow, she closed her eyes, allowing the pain to enter her face.

Lara closed her eyes to it and turned around, starting to walk away. She did not see Amanda struggle to her feet, but she heard her call. "Lara!"

She ignored it and continued walking, the screams of her old friend following her into the world of white snow.

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"Lara!"

Hands holding her, pinning her down.

"Lara!" A voice she hated, loved...

"Lara wake up!"

Lara Croft sat up with a start, her heart racing in her chest as she instinctively reached for her gun and pointed it at her assailant. In front of her, Amanda gasped and fell back, her eyes wide as she held up her hands in defence.

"It's me," she said. "Lara please, it's me."

Snow swirled around them, as Lara remembered her dream, remembered shooting Amanda and leaving her to die in the cold wasteland she had survived as a child. She did not drop her gun immediately, but looked at Amanda, her gaze demanding why the woman had woken her.

Looking at her gun, Amanda touched her lip with her tongue and made a vague motion into the snow. "Something's out there," she said slowly. "I can feel it." Her eyes travelled back to the gun as she frowned. "And look at the Thor's gauntlet Lara, look!"

The Tomb Raider managed to tear her eyes away from Amanda's and look at her own wrists were she could see the faint blue glow of Thor's Gauntlet's from underneath her gloves. She frowned and looked up at Amanda again who was hugging her body, shivering in the cold wind. They had settled amidst some ancient ruins against a rock face for the night. Lara had thought that she would stay awake to keep an eye out for any danger but obviously she had fallen asleep. Feeling a wave of shame, she dropped her gun and pushed herself up, pulling Amanda up with her.

"What do you feel?" she queried as she realized that the light around them was coming from Amanda's stone. "Turn that off, it will betray our position."

Amanda grimaced and a second later darkness fell around them. Lara closed her eyes to give her some time to adjust then opened them again and searched for Amanda's shape in the darkness.

"I can't explain it," she said sharply. "It's... like a pressing on my chest. _Something's_ coming closer. Look at your gauntlets, they clearly show it as well!"

Lara shook her head sharply and took of her gloves to reveal the glowing ancient device. "They did then whenever there was a material close by that I could move with them." She pointed out and looked around the ruins. "There might be some of it here."

Amanda grimaced but didn't reply, though Lara could see that she didn't seem convinced. Clutching the Wraith Stone, she looked around the darkness, searching for something Lara couldn't feel. Watching her once friend, Lara sighed and looked around, running her hand over the walls to see if she could find the source of the gauntlet's glow. While she did this, Amanda watched her, her hand still over her stone.

It took a few minutes for Lara to find what she was looking for. With her hands cold from touching the stone, she felt a shift and then saw a faint glow from behind a sheet of ice. Smiling, she glanced at Amanda who came closer to investigate.

"Here it is," she said. "Stand back, I'm going to move it."

With her face tight, Amanda looked up and abruptly summoned the light from her stone again. "Lara, I don't think you should," she said making Lara smile as she took off her other hand's glove.

"Who's overcautious now?" she queried as she put both hands on the stone. "I'm going to push on three. One...Two... Three!" She pushed hard against the rock face at the same time a loud, guttural roar pierced through the darkness.

"Lara!" Amanda yelled seconds before a large glowing yeti thrall crashed through the ruins to their left. Lara let go of the rock and turned around, pulling Excalibur as she did so but Amanda was quicker than she was. Summoning the stone's power with a quickness that almost made Lara jealous she blasted the thrall with a stream of power.

"I told you so!" The woman snapped as she limped to where Lara stood, spreading the light around them. "There are more coming!"

Feeling her heart race within her chest, Lara looked around them, spotting two more shapes coming their way. The gloves on her hands glowed ominously in the dark and she knew that it didn't help telling Amanda to let her light die because, not only did they glow just as brightly but, they were probably what drew the thralls towards them.

"There," she said pointing out a shape in the dark. "When they go down, we need to make sure that they are dead! They reanimate themselves..."

"I know!" Amanda snapped as she grabbed the first one that came into sight and threw it against the rock face. Lara ran at it and thrust Excalibur into its chest, making it explode into a cloud of dust. "Trust me, I know!"

Two more came at them and this time the two women split off, Lara attacking the thrall with Excalibur and Amanda with her stone. When it appeared as if there was no more, Lara ran back to the stone that she had moved, turning on her LED light.

"What are you doing?" Amanda demanded as she limped to her side. "We have to move from this spot!"

Lara, running her hands up and down the rock, watching the way the stone lit up, glanced at her and then back to the stone. Placing her hands over it, she tried to push it in a little further but found that the stone could not go any deeper.

"I know," Lara said softly as she stepped back and looked to the side of the stone. With her fingers shivering from the cold she ran it along the edge of it, taking note of the ancient grooves that have been cut into it. "But I think..." She paused and grimaced. "Stand close to me."

Amanda gaped at her. "Lara!" she exclaimed again. "We do not have time for this! Listen! Can you hear those creatures coming again? You and I just survived the release of Jὂrmungandr and we escaped from Helheim. And, against all the odds, we are still alive in the coldest place on this planet! I am not going to sit around here and wait for those thralls to come pick us off of the ledge!"

Lara turned around sharply and glared at Amanda. "I know Amanda!" she snapped. "But, I want to see what this is. It might provide us with a quicker, _warmer_ way off of this mountain! Please, just let me do this!"

There was an audible click as Amanda clenched her teeth together, her face tense as she shook her head. "Don't let me die unnecessarily here Lara," she said and turned around, "I'll keep watch."

Remembering her dream, Lara watched as Amanda turned around and spread her legs for balance. The Wraith Stone began to glow as she wrapped her hand around it, its dark light curling around Amanda's fingers like vines. Knowing what was coming, Lara turned her face away and closed her eyes, unable to face the Unknown Entity Amanda was about to summon. How the woman could face it, after it had slaughtered most of their colleges and friends, Lara could never understand and the fact that the woman could embrace it was beyond belief.

Hearing the spine chilling sound of the Entity coming to life, Lara opened her eyes and set to discover the secrets hidden inside the stone, knowing with a touch of bitterness that she once again had to trust Amanda to guard her back.

_To Be Continued..._

_AN: And finally an update, lol. This has been done for a while, but I was waiting for another chapter from another story (The Healer's Touch for those of you who follow it) to come back from my Beta Reader. I always post that one first. :) Thank you once again for all the reviews on this, I appreciate every single one! You can now follow me on twitter if you want to see what I'm up to, I always post what project I'm working on there. You can find a link through my profile. _

_Enjoy your day everybody! _

_Alyss_

_3-;-_


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